Hasib Al Islam, a key coordinator of the 2024 Anti-Discrimination Student Movement and current president of the Dhaka University branch of the National Student Force (the student wing of the National Citizen Party, or NCP), was attacked with a chopper (machete) in Sreemangal, Moulvibazar, on Tuesday.
The incident occurred around noon in front of Balishira Resort in the Radhanagar area of Sreemangal. A video of the attack has circulated widely on Facebook. The identity of the attacker is not yet known.
In the video, Hasib Al Islam and a young woman are seen arriving in a battery-powered auto-rickshaw on the road outside the resort. The person filming begins verbally abusing Hasib. After the rickshaw stops, the man shakes hands with him and continues making objectionable remarks before suddenly lunging at him. Hasib jumps out of the rickshaw and flees on foot. Near the end of the footage, the shadow on the ground indicates that the attacker was holding a chopper.
An employee of Balishira Resort, speaking to Prothom Alo on condition of anonymity, said Hasib had checked into the resort three days earlier. On Tuesday, he and the woman left the resort intending to travel to Chattogram and boarded a battery-powered auto-rickshaw. After traveling a short distance, a man attacked them with a chopper. Hasib ran back to the resort. Staff noticed a wound on his hand and bandaged it to stop the bleeding. Shortly afterward, the pair left again by auto-rickshaw toward the railway station.
Repeated attempts to contact Hasib Al Islam on his mobile phone for a statement were unsuccessful.
Hasib Al Islam, who rose to prominence as a student coordinator during the 2024 movement, has publicly admitted to burning Metrorail stations and killing police officers during that period. He has also been suspected of involvement in the Secretariat fire and of taking bribes in connection with deputy commissioner (DC) postings.
Pritam Das, joint convener of the NCP’s central committee and a resident of Sreemangal, told Prothom Alo by phone in the afternoon that Hasib was traveling by train to Cumilla after the attack and would return to Sreemangal from there. Once he arrives, they plan to file a case at Sreemangal police station and decide on further steps.
Kamrul Hossain Chowdhury, in-charge of the Tourist Police Sreemangal Zone, confirmed he had heard about the incident but said no formal complaint had been filed with them. Police are looking into the matter.